(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Law enforcement officials in Maine were allegedly warned weeks prior to the tragic mass shooting that claimed 18 lives.
The Associated Press revealed that Maine police had been alerted about a series of “veiled threats” made by Robert Card, the perpetrator of the attack and a U.S. Army reservist.
Two Maine police chiefs disclosed that the state issued an alert for Card following his threats against his base and fellow soldiers. Law enforcement officials were unable to locate him during their patrols and thus “they moved on,” the AP reported.
“We added extra patrols, we did that for about two weeks. … The guy never showed up,” said Jack Clements, the police chief in Saco, where Card trained. Clements appeared to downplay the severity of the threats, saying that this department received a lot of similar alerts.
“Never came in contact with this guy, never received any phone calls from the reserve center saying, ‘Hey, we got somebody who was causing a problem,’” he said. “We never got anything.”
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry also confirmed that his office had been notified of the threats made by Card.
“We couldn’t locate him,” Merry said. When questioned about potential follow-ups, Merry claimed he did not remember because “I don’t have any reports in front of me.”
Adding to the twist, the FBI denied any prior knowledge of Card before the tragic incident. The bureau told the AP that it “did not have nor did it receive any tips or information concerning Robert Card.” The bureau claimed that its background check system “was not provided with or in possession of any information that would have prohibited Card from a lawful firearm purchase.”
The report also implicated the New York State Police, revealing that they had encountered Card on July 16. Responding to “threats to other members of his military unit.”
When approached for additional details, the New York State Police declined to comment. “This is an active investigation, and the New York State Police does not comment on active investigations, nor investigations in which we are not the lead agency,” the department said on Friday.
